How to Create a Google+ Vanity URL

The link to your posts on Google+ looks as if you have linked to one of your Swiss bank accounts. It is hard to remember the link because of the long ID in it. This also makes it hard to share with your friends.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a vanity URL like http://yourdomain/+, which points to your posts stream on Google+?

There is a simple way to do this if you have your own server: Add a permanent redirect (301) to your .htaccess file. This can be done by editing the file through the cPanel or by directly editing the file on your server.

If you can do this through a web panel I would recommend using the panel, unless you know what you are doing.

Add a Vanity URL through cPanel

The following screenshot shows how to set this up through cPanel.

In cPanel go to Domains > Redirects. Then add your Google+ information as shown in the screenshot above.

Do not forget to replace the string YOURIDHERE with the correct id.

Add a Vanity URL to .htaccess

If it is not possible for you to use a web panel, you can set up your Google+ Vanity URL by adding the following line to your server's .htaccess file.

Creating a Vanity URL when You do Not Own a Server

There are various services which help in creating a vanity URL, that you can point to your Google+ account. For example, http://gplus.to/. I haven't tested it myself, but there are lots of people on Google+ already using the service.

Conclusion

It is easy to create your own vanity URLs for Google+. If you want to see my posts on Google+ you can use my vanity URL: http://cutemachine/+